Nathan Wilbur Byrne (1861 - 1947)

Born 7 Oct 1861 in Richland County

Husband of Anna Emma (Johnston) Byrne — married 12 Jul 1904 in Olney illinois

Died 13 Aug 1947 at age 85 in Joliet Illinois

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Biography

Nathan was the fourth of 8 children born to Miranda Copeland and Uriah Byrne. All the children were born in Illinois. Uriah was listed as a "teamster" in 1870 and a farmer in 1880. Nathan's mother died when he was 12.

Like his father, Nathan was a farmer in central Illinois. At the age of 18 he was living at the home of his future wife and working for her family as a farm laborer. When he was 22 he married Adaline Vallette. They had three children, Sadie, Ada and Bill. Shortly before Bill's second birthday, Adaline died of uterine cancer. Soon after that Nathan married a widow named Annie Johnston Hessick and they had a daughter named Ida "Laxton." Nathan also raised his nephew, Nathan "Lemuel" Byrne.

Nathan farmed on rented property for a time, but left farming temporarily to become a co-owner of a feed store in Olney, Illinois with his brother-in-law, William Franklin. Then he bought a farm of 229 acres. He was elected and served for one term as Tax Collector of Bonpas Township. In 1920 he was employed as a guard in Olney.

By 1930 he had moved to New Lenox, Illinois where he and Annie worked for an elderly couple. Before 1935 they were living near his daughter Sadie in Joliet, Illinois. Annie died in 1945 in Joliet and Nathan died there less than 2 years later.

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